Flood-hit Thailand declined help offer, US Navy says. "There were two channels" in Thai government - only one said yes:

WASHINGTON: The US Navy has withdrawn several ships sent to help with relief efforts in flood-hit Thailand after receiving "mixed" messages from the Bangkok government, a defence official said on Monday. The USS George Washington aircraft carrier and other ships were deployed to the area on October 16 for potential disaster relief work as Thailand faced massive flooding from monsoon rains, said Navy spokesman Lieutenant Commander John Perkins. But the US military never received a formal request from the Thai government and the three-ship aircraft carrier group along with a fourth ship, the USS Kidd, were released and left the area on Friday, said Perkins, spokesman for the US Pacific Fleet based in Hawaii. "We are ready to help but we haven't got a request," said a US defence official, who spoke on condition of anonymity. "There were two channels (in the Thai government),"...